NC v2.2 EAp1: Fundamental Commissioning of Building Energy Systems

  • NC22_EAc3andEAp1_Type3_EnhancedCx diagram

  • Benefits of commissioning

    You may think of commissioning, including hiring a commissioning agent, as an added cost—and it is. It’s likely to reduce your operational costs, however, by yielding 5%–10% improvements in energy efficiency and ensuring that facilities personnel know how to operate key building systems. It’s also a great way to catch mistakes like missing or incorrectly installed equipment, avoiding occupant complaints and callbacks, indoor air quality and thermal comfort problems, premature equipment failure, and litigation.

    Commissioning (Cx1. Commissioning (Cx) is the process of verifying and documenting that a building and all of its systems and assemblies are planned, designed, installed, tested, operated, and maintained to meet the owner's project requirements. 2. The process of checking the performance of a building against the owner's goals during design, construction, and occupancy. At a minimum, mechanical and electrical equipment are tested, although much more extensive testing may also be included.) is the process of verifying that the building’s systems operate as intended and according to the owner’s requirements as set forth in project documents. Commissioning helps fill the gap between the design team, whose members usually aren’t meant to be responsible for checking minor construction details, and subcontractors, who may inadvertently err on key items like fan power settings or sensor locations. The commissioning agent (CxAThe commissioning authority (CxA) is the individual designated to organize, lead, and review the completion of commissioning process activities. The CxA facilitates communication among the owner, designer, and contractor to ensure that complex systems are installed and function in accordance with the owner's project requirements.) also  provides the owner with the expert oversight of an engineer.

    What is fundamental vs. enhanced commissioning?

    Fundamental Commissioning is a LEED prerequisite, although there are different compliance paths available depending on the project’s size. For projects less than 50,000 ft2, the CxA may be involved in the project as an associate of the contractor, construction manager, architect, or engineer and may have other project responsibilities. For projects over that size, the CxA may be still be from the same firm as a project team member, as long as he or she is not otherwise involved in the project. In both cases an independent consultant contracted to the owner is also an option, and may bring more value by offering better objectivity and  a different perspective than someone associated with the design team.

    Mechanical system image

    For the Enhanced Commissioning credit, an independent consultant is required to be the CxA. Enhanced commissioning can offer additional benefits by involving the CxA earlier during design (instead of at the bid stage), by requiring the CxA to develop an operations manual and verify that staff are trained with it, and by requiring the CxA to review operations within 8–10 months of substantial completion.

    Scope of commissioning

    Include at least the following in the scope of commissioning:

    • Heating, cooling, refrigeration, ventilation systems and controls
    • Lighting and daylighting controls
    • Domestic hot water systems
    • Renewable energy systems

    Choosing enhanced or fundamental commissioning

    LEED divides the commissioning process into two parts. Fundamental commissioning focuses on installation and verification of the mechanical and electrical systems during construction. Enhanced commissioning covers a broader scope of systems, and involves broader participation of the CxA, beginning during construction documents and continuing through occupancy.

    The Enhanced Commissioning credit is open to any project, but project teams often choose not to pursue it due to the increased cost and uncertainty around its benefits. Enhanced  commissioning fees are typically $0.90–$1.20/ft2 for LEED-NC and LEED for Schools projects. These fees represent a 25%–40% cost increase over fundamental commissioning, while providing almost double the scope of work. All projects benefit with enhanced commissioning, though it can be more obvious for large or more complex projects. Projects can choose to make the decision for pursuing enhanced until after receiving the bid proposal, in order to evaluate the actual cost, but should hire a commissioning agent by the end of design development for enhanced commissioning.

    Scope of work for LEED Commissioning credits

Legend

  • Best Practices
  • Gotcha
  • Action Steps
  • Cost Tip

Pre-Design

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  • Owners' Project Requirements (OPROwner's project requirements (OPR) is a written document that details the ideas, concepts, and criteria that are determined by the owner to be important to the success of the project.) are developed and signed off on by the owner. The OPR works as the guideline to develop a design that meets the owner’s requirements. See the Documentation Toolkit for a template and sample OPR

  • Spray painted photocell.The project will benefit from the Owner’s active role in developing the OPROwner's project requirements (OPR) is a written document that details the ideas, concepts, and criteria that are determined by the owner to be important to the success of the project. with specific goals for energy efficiency and other systems. Owners often find it helpful to state goals in terms of a minimum acceptable level and a specified payback period, for example, “The building is aimed to save 20% energy as compared to a code compliant building with a total payback of less than 5 years. Our goal is to provide a comfortable space with user controlled lighting and ventilation to minimize waste and maximize comfort. The operations and maintenance staff are to be aware and able to support the intent of smooth controls. Owners typically work with the architects to put the project goals on paper. Revisiting meeting notes from initial project discussions can be helpful in assimilating client goals.

  • Commissioning generates an average savings of 28 percent of predicted annual energy use, according to the 2004 study, “The Cost-Effectiveness of Commissioning New and Existing Commercial Buildings: Lessons from 224 Buildings.” (See Resources.)

  • The cost of fundamental commissioning services may vary from $0.35/ft2 to $0.75/ft2 depending on project type, variety of uses, complexity of systems and location of the project to name a few parameters. You may find it most helpful to get multiple proposal of fees and compare the scope to make sure everything required by LEED is covered without additional tasks.

Schematic Design

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  • Develop the Basis of Design (BODBasis of design (BOD) includes design information necessary to accomplish the owner's project requirements, including system descriptions, indoor environmental quality criteria, design assumptions, and references to applicable codes, standards, regulations, and guidelines.), working with the design team, including at least the architect, mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineers with lighting designer. Along with the OPROwner's project requirements (OPR) is a written document that details the ideas, concepts, and criteria that are determined by the owner to be important to the success of the project., the BOD facilitates constant discussion on realistic owner’s goals and the team’s input in addressing them. The architect, owner, and engineer update the OPR and BOD throughout the project to maintain accuracy for the CxAThe commissioning authority (CxA) is the individual designated to organize, lead, and review the completion of commissioning process activities. The CxA facilitates communication among the owner, designer, and contractor to ensure that complex systems are installed and function in accordance with the owner's project requirements., and they are used as benchmarks during cost estimating and value engineering. The BOD also has a general role in project development, beyond its use in commissioning requirements. Items like water conservation, renewable energy and indoor air comfort goals should be included although it is not a common practice. See the Documentation Toolkit for a template and sample BOD.

  • Projects with district energy systems must commission, for the prerequisite, all “downstream” equipment—systems installed for the building’s use and included in the project costs. Downstream equipmentDownstream equipment consists of all heating or cooling systems, equipment, and controls located within the project building and site associated with transporting thermal energy into heated or cooled spaces. This includes the thermal connection or interface with the district energy system, secondary distribution systems in the building, and terminal units. may include air handling units, variable-air-volume (VAVVariable Air Volume (VAV) is an HVAC conservation feature that supplies varying quantities of conditioned (heated or cooled) air to different parts of a building according to the heating and cooling needs of those specific areas.) boxes, duct work, pumps, controls and fans. “Upstream” district energy equipment, such as chillers, boilers, cogenerationThe simultaneous production of electric and thermal energy in on-site, distributed energy systems; typically, waste heat from the electricity generation process is recovered and used to heat, cool, or dehumidify building space. Neither generation of electricity without use of the byproduct heat, nor waste-heat recovery from processes other than electricity generation is included in the definition of cogeneration. equipment and other components of a district heating and cooling plant that serve the project building may need to be commissioned for the Enhanced Commissioning credit.

  • Making project intent clear and specific in writing the OPROwner's project requirements (OPR) is a written document that details the ideas, concepts, and criteria that are determined by the owner to be important to the success of the project. and BODBasis of design (BOD) includes design information necessary to accomplish the owner's project requirements, including system descriptions, indoor environmental quality criteria, design assumptions, and references to applicable codes, standards, regulations, and guidelines. pays off in numerous ways. The CxAThe commissioning authority (CxA) is the individual designated to organize, lead, and review the completion of commissioning process activities. The CxA facilitates communication among the owner, designer, and contractor to ensure that complex systems are installed and function in accordance with the owner's project requirements. is better able to accurately bid on the job, and better establish a clear commissioning plan. The more vague the project goals, the less effective commissioning presence will be.

  • The architect, mechanical and electrical engineer, and lighting designer describe the standards, goals and performance levels of the designed building systems in the BODBasis of design (BOD) includes design information necessary to accomplish the owner's project requirements, including system descriptions, indoor environmental quality criteria, design assumptions, and references to applicable codes, standards, regulations, and guidelines..

  • The owner can include additional building systems in the commissioning scope, such as the building envelope, fire and safety systems, and water collection systems.

  • Financial incentives for energy efficiency, including commissioning as an integral component may be offered by state and local agencies. For example, New York State pays a portion of a commissioning agent fees and provides further incentives if some energy efficiency recommendations are implemented. See Resources for more information on incentives.

  • Commissioning costs per square foot for multifamily or similar buildings may be higher than open-floor commercial spaces due to the number of systems to be installed and the higher sampling rate of commissioned systems.

  • Payback may be faster for commissioning of systems-intensive facilities such as healthcare facilities and laboratories. A lot can go wrong in the complex controls and building management systems in these facilities, and because of the level of energy consumption involved, those mistakes can be expensive. Commissioning activities like test balancing, functional performance, and sequence verification are particularly useful here while enhanced commissioning activities of staff training verification and manual development highly valuable.

  • If properly implemented, commissioning will pay for itself within a year of operation, or even during design.  Savings are likely to be realized from:

    •   Reduction or elimination of change orders
    •   Reduction or elimination of requests for information
    •   Proper system and component selection
    •   Improved performance.

Design Development

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  • The RFP process should involve the architect and mechanical engineer to be sure that it accurately reflects the project’s requirements. The mechanical engineer lists all the building systems equipment to be commissioned and identifies the required sampling rates in the RFP. If the systems are not yet defined, a description of the mechanical design direction would be included in the project intent and RFP.

  • Request that proposals provide fee breakdowns for fundamental and enhanced commissioning. This would allow the owner to know the cost differential between the services and consider enhanced commissioning.

  • The CxA’s main role is to be the technical expert in the owner’s team. It is in the owner’s or client best interest to hire a CxA by design development and introduce the project goals, team and schedule.

  • Although the CxAThe commissioning authority (CxA) is the individual designated to organize, lead, and review the completion of commissioning process activities. The CxA facilitates communication among the owner, designer, and contractor to ensure that complex systems are installed and function in accordance with the owner's project requirements. is not expected to deliver much during design, the presence of the CxA in the team meetings and drawings development is more integrated into the process. The team also gets to learn more about the commissioning activities and tailor the drawings based on what the CxA is looking for during document review.

  • Early hiring and meeting attendance by the CxAThe commissioning authority (CxA) is the individual designated to organize, lead, and review the completion of commissioning process activities. The CxA facilitates communication among the owner, designer, and contractor to ensure that complex systems are installed and function in accordance with the owner's project requirements. during Enhanced Commissioning may be perceived as high cost, but should allow reduced on-site presence during construction and reduced errors during design and installation. It facilitates a preventive rather than reactive involvement.

  • Choose your CxAThe commissioning authority (CxA) is the individual designated to organize, lead, and review the completion of commissioning process activities. The CxA facilitates communication among the owner, designer, and contractor to ensure that complex systems are installed and function in accordance with the owner's project requirements., depending on the size of your project, the owner's preferences, and whether you are attempting the enhanced credit or simply the prerequisite.
 

    Who can the the Commissioning Agent?

  • An independent consultant, as compared to one from the same firm as the design team, is in the best position to truly represent the owner’s interests during design and construction, including installation of key systems. As commissioning agents are often experienced mechanical engineers, they can provide input into the project design and any recommendations on improved project efficiency.

     

    Commissioning Authority Qualifications

  • Enhanced commissioning fees are typically 20%-30% more than fundamental commissioning while providing double the benefits. The return on investment is substantially more when the commissioning agent is involved early and is committed to revisit the project in operation.

  • Include commissioning costs during initial project budgeting to avoid later surprises.

Construction Documents

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  • Incorporate commissioning specifications in Division 1 for general information and commissioning notes into mechanical and electrical specifications. See the Documentation Toolkit for a sample specification.

  • The commissioning agent develops a commissioning plan based on the OPROwner's project requirements (OPR) is a written document that details the ideas, concepts, and criteria that are determined by the owner to be important to the success of the project., BODBasis of design (BOD) includes design information necessary to accomplish the owner's project requirements, including system descriptions, indoor environmental quality criteria, design assumptions, and references to applicable codes, standards, regulations, and guidelines. and commissioning meeting. The commissioning plan works as the guidebook of commissioning for the rest of the team. It demystifies the process and lists the responsibilities of the design and construction team. The plan discusses the roles of key team members, includes the latest versions of the OPR and BOD, specifies system sampling rates, anticipates pitfalls, and provides a commissioning schedule.

  • A good commissioning specification clarifies subcontractor responsibilities associated with verification and testing. Doing so eliminates any potential change orders associated with “extra” work required for systems commissioning.

  • Dedicate a project team meeting to commissioning process to review each team member’s role and scope and to ensure they know what is required for LEED certification.

  • Specifications need to include commission details. If the CxAThe commissioning authority (CxA) is the individual designated to organize, lead, and review the completion of commissioning process activities. The CxA facilitates communication among the owner, designer, and contractor to ensure that complex systems are installed and function in accordance with the owner's project requirements. is not on board by this point, refer to standard commissioning specifications to ensure it is included in the bid package.

  • Refer to the commissioning plan regularly throughout the project to understand the roles and responsibilities of all team members relative to completing a quality project. It is a valuable document and is regularly under-utilized.

  • Specifications eliminate potential change orders associated with “extra” work required for systems commissioning by sub contractors. These specifications inform the commissioning agent’s responsibility and how it will impact the sub-contractors presence on site. Poorly written specifications that do not include details would leave uncertainties and gaps in contractor’s expectations.

Construction

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  • CxA with air handling unit.The CxA stays abreast of construction progress by attending at least some meetings and receiving updates. As equipment is installed, the CxA verifies installation of equipment to be commissioned, and performs functional testing in collaboration with subcontractors, including running the duct system under performance specifications and ensuring that they are balanced as required. The CxA runs the heating and cooling systems to ensure there are no installation problems, and the subcontractor corrects any defects or leaks.

  • Normal subcontractor testing can often be performed in coordination with commissioning.  Proper coordination of these activities can reduce total commissioning time and reduce system problems. The commissioning process may require additional coordination time for subcontractors, which can result in additional contract costs. During the construction team bidding phase, include Cx1. Commissioning (Cx) is the process of verifying and documenting that a building and all of its systems and assemblies are planned, designed, installed, tested, operated, and maintained to meet the owner's project requirements. 2. The process of checking the performance of a building against the owner's goals during design, construction, and occupancy. At a minimum, mechanical and electrical equipment are tested, although much more extensive testing may also be included. coordination (at a minimum) in the scope of the mechanical, electrical and controls subcontractors.

  • The CxAThe commissioning authority (CxA) is the individual designated to organize, lead, and review the completion of commissioning process activities. The CxA facilitates communication among the owner, designer, and contractor to ensure that complex systems are installed and function in accordance with the owner's project requirements. develops a commissioning report for the owner and project team including reports on all visits, observations and recommendations. A Cx1. Commissioning (Cx) is the process of verifying and documenting that a building and all of its systems and assemblies are planned, designed, installed, tested, operated, and maintained to meet the owner's project requirements. 2. The process of checking the performance of a building against the owner's goals during design, construction, and occupancy. At a minimum, mechanical and electrical equipment are tested, although much more extensive testing may also be included. Report is the final deliverable. It lists all of the activities carried out, testing results and recommendations. Typical recommendations may refer to misbalanced vents, incorrect fan power, incorrect system sizing, dampers not present where specified, and incorrectly installed switches. The CxA is available for a final meeting and to discuss all recommendations for clarifications. Finally, the CxA completes the LEED Online documentation and uploads all required documents.

  • The commissioning agent’s involvement in team meetings, both in pre-construction and construction, provides the subcontractors the chance to understand the role, tasks and expectations of a CxAThe commissioning authority (CxA) is the individual designated to organize, lead, and review the completion of commissioning process activities. The CxA facilitates communication among the owner, designer, and contractor to ensure that complex systems are installed and function in accordance with the owner's project requirements.. Construction teams benefit from learning how the commissioning activities help their job, decrease their onsite presence by taking responsibility for quality control, and reduce contractors’ liability. For example, a malfunctioning air vent, if not commissioned, will eventually be found after months of fault finding and may cause out of pocket expenses for the sub-contractor.

  • Functional testing, in which the whole system is tested instead of individual components, is a critical part of commissioning. Observations range from larger scale to very basic, such as diffusersIn an HVAC context, diffusers disperse heating, cooling, or ventilation air as it enters a room, ideally preventing uncomfortable direct currents and in many cases, reducing energy costs and improving indoor air quality (IAQ). In light fixtures, diffusers filter and disperse light. supplying more than 10% of the recommended fan rate, outside air enthalpy sensor placed in a return air flow instead of supply flow, or incorrect temperature sensor settings.

  • LEED documentation can be submitted prior to the final commissioning report being completed, including verification of commissioned systems. A contract to complete these items is sufficient.

Operations & Maintenance

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  • The CxAThe commissioning authority (CxA) is the individual designated to organize, lead, and review the completion of commissioning process activities. The CxA facilitates communication among the owner, designer, and contractor to ensure that complex systems are installed and function in accordance with the owner's project requirements. develops commissioning report including all testing and observations. A Commissioning Report is the final deliverable for the commissioning prerequisite. It lists all the activities carried out, testing results and recommendations. The CxA is available for a final meeting and to discuss all recommendations for clarifications.

  • LEED compliance does not require the implementation of commissioning report recommendations, but after having paid the commissioning exercise, not implementing the recommendations would be a waste of money.

  • Commissioning agent with BAS metersCommissioning supports a smooth transition from design into operations by avoiding future change orders. It ensures the equipment is installed per manufacturer’s instructions and aligned with the design intentA written document that details the ideas, concepts, and criteria that are determined by the owner to be important to the success of the project.. It reduces waste of energy and money due to incorrect control settings or system settings that aren’t fully optimized.

  • If pursuing EQc7.2: Thermal Comfort—Verification, including a user survey on thermal comfort issues, the results can be discussed with the CxAThe commissioning authority (CxA) is the individual designated to organize, lead, and review the completion of commissioning process activities. The CxA facilitates communication among the owner, designer, and contractor to ensure that complex systems are installed and function in accordance with the owner's project requirements. to identify any problems. The user survey can be scheduled before the CxA visits to get the results available on time. 

  • USGBC

    Excerpted from LEED for New Construction and Major Renovations Version 2.2

    COPYRIGHT © 2005 BY THE U.S. GREEN BUILDING COUNCIL, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
    LEED-NC v2.2 credit language as displayed here is up-to-date according to the June 2008 LEED errata, which were the last issued by USGBC for this rating system.

    EA Prerequisite 1 Fundamental Commissioning of the Building Energy Systems

    Required

    Intent

    Verify that the building’s energy related systems are installed, calibrated and perform according to the owner’s project requirements, basis of design, and construction documents.

    Benefits of Commissioning

    Benefits of commissioning include reduced energy use, lower operating costs, reduced contractor callbacks, better building documentation, improved occupant productivity, and verification that the systems perform in accordance with the owner’s project requirements.

    Requirements

    Commissioned Systems


    The following commissioning process activities shall be completed by the commissioning team, in accordance with the LEED for New Construction 2.2 Reference Guide.

    1) Designate an individual as the Commissioning Authority (CxA) to lead, review and oversee the completion of the commissioning process activities.

    a) The CxA shall have documented commissioning authority experience in at least two building projects.

    b) The individual serving as the CxA shall be independent of the project’s design and construction manage- ment, though they may be employees of the firms providing those services. The CxA may be a qualified employee or consultant of the Owner.

    c) The CxA shall report results, findings and recommendations directly to the Owner.

    d) For projects smaller than 50,000 gross square feet, the CxA may include qualified persons on the design or construction teams who have the required experience.

    2) The Owner shall document the Owner’s Project Requirements (OPR). The design team shall develop the Basis of Design (BOD). The CxA shall review these documents for clarity and completeness. The Owner and design team shall be responsible for updates to their respective documents.

    3) Develop and incorporate commissioning requirements into the construction documents. 4) Develop and implement a commissioning plan. 5) Verify the installation and performance of the systems to be commissioned. 6) Complete a summary commissioning report.


    Commissioning process activities shall be completed for the following energy-related systems, at a minimum:

    • Heating, ventilating, air conditioning, and refrigeration (HVAC&R) systems (mechanical and passive) and associated controls
    • Lighting and daylighting controls
    • Domestic hot water systems ␣ Renewable energy systems (wind, solar etc.)

    Potential Technologies & Strategies

    Owners are encouraged to seek out qualified individuals to lead the commissioning process. Qualified individuals are identified as those who possess a high level of experience in the following areas:

    • Energy systems design, installation and operation
    • Commissioning planning and process management
    • Hands-onfieldexperiencewithenergysystemsperformance,interaction,start-up,balancing,testing,trouble- shooting, operation, and maintenance procedures
    • Energy systems automation control knowledge

    Owners are encouraged to consider including water-using systems, building envelope systems, and other systems in the scope of the commissioning plan as appropriate. The building envelope is an important component of a facility which impacts energy consumption, occupant comfort and indoor air quality. While it is not required to be commissioned by LEED, an owner can receive significant financial savings and reduced risk of poor indoor air quality by including building envelope commissioning.

    The LEED for New Construction 2.2 Reference Guide provides guidance on the rigor expected for this prereq- uisite for the following:

    • Owner’s project requirements ␣ 
    • Basis of design ␣ 
    • Commissioning plan ␣ 
    • Commissioning specification ␣ 
    • Performance verification documentation 
    • Commissioning report

Technical Guides

Whole Building Design Guide (Building Commissioning Association)

This webpage provides an overview of commissioning drivers, benefits, goals, and principles and general commissioning guides, standards, and resources.

Applications Team, Energy-Efficiency Design Applications: Measurement & Verification Documents

This website provides a list of resources to help teams implement an M&V program, the content ranges from guidelines to checklists.

International Performance Measurement & Verification Protocol, Volume I

IPMVPThe International Performance Measurement and Verification Protocol (IPMVP) provides best-practice protocol for measurement and verification of new construction. This standard is referenced in LEED's measurement and verification credits. is the standard in which this credit is based on and these documents should be used in designing the M&V system and plan.

ASHRAE Guideline 0-2005, The Commissioning Process

This technical guideline was put together by technical committees at ASHRAE.

International Performance Measurement & Verification Protocol, Volume III

IPMVPThe International Performance Measurement and Verification Protocol (IPMVP) provides best-practice protocol for measurement and verification of new construction. This standard is referenced in LEED's measurement and verification credits. is the standard in which this credit is based on and these documents should be used in designing the M&V system and plan.

ASHRAE Guideline 1-1996

An older guideline, first published by ASHRAE in 1996.

ASHRAE Guidelines 14-2004, M&V Guidelines

ASHRAE provides technical guidelines for designing an M&V plan. This document can assist project teams in designing and implementing the M&V systems and plan.

Building Commissioning Handbook, 2nd Edition

The handbook on best practices to follow during commissioning is published by the Building Commissioning Association.

M&V Guidelines: Measurement and Verification for Federal Energy Projects

These M&V guidelines are written for federal buildings but could be helpful for many projects.

Web Tools

Cx Assistant

A commissioning tool from Energy Design Resources that can estimate costs and develop sample scopes, design intentA written document that details the ideas, concepts, and criteria that are determined by the owner to be important to the success of the project. documents, BODs, and specifications.

California Commissioning Collaborative

The CCC develops cost effective programs, tools, techniques and a service delivery infrastructure to encourage the use of the building commissioning process in new and existing buildings.

Establishing Commissioning Fees (Ronald J. Wilkinson, 2000)

This article, which appeared in the ASHRAE Journal, uses data for 19 actual projects to look at commissioning costs in various ways. It can be purchased for $8.

Commissioning Toolkit for Small Buildings

A free resource from the State of California, with commiissioning templates you can use.

Publications

Best Practices in Commissioning Existing Buildings

Published by the Building Commissioning Association, this report draws on a number of sets of guidelines to identify the key phases of the commissioning process, and provides a glossary of terms.

Costs and Benefit of Commissioning New and Existing Commercial Buildings

This presentation-format overview of commissioning looks at the reasons for and scope of commissioning, with a focus on the potential for cost savings and avoiding problems.

Stay On-line: Data Center Commissioning (Mark Hydeman, Reinhard Seidl and Charles Shalley, 2005)

An ASHRAE Journal article, this examines the special challenges of ensuring reliability in mission-critical systems supporting facilities such as data centers.

Saving Energy Through Enhanced Building Operations

A list of incentives for commissioning.

Establishing Commissioning Costs (Portland Energy Conservation, 2000; revised 2002)

Offering guidance for estimating commissioning costs during the design and construction phases of a project, this article addresses LEED requirements and special circumstances that can affect the cost of commissioning.

The Value of the Commissioning Process: Costs and Benefits (Chad Dorgan, Robert Cox, and Charles Dorgan)

The authors, strong proponents of commissioning, focus on opportunities for savings and present a method for documenting the benefits of including commissioning from the beginning of a project onward.

The Cost-Effectiveness of Commissioning New and Existing Building Commercial Buildings: Lessons from 224 Buildings (Evan Mills, Normal Bourassa, Mary Ann Piette, Hannah Friedman, Tudi Haasl, Tehesia Powell and David Claridge, 2005)

A meta-analysis of studies of a large sample of commissioned buildings, this paper, which is concerned with national-level energy goals, was presented at the 2005 National Conference on Building Commissioning, and is a shorter form of a study sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy.

ASHRAE Journal, February 2000: Establishing Commissioning Fees

This article, featured in ASHRAE Journal, February 2000, reviews the costs associated with commissioning of new building mechanical and electrical systems, using data from 19 facilities. Its purpose is to provide a means to estimate and justify commissioning costs.

Organizations

Building Commissioning Association

The Building Commissioning Association makes available a number of publications on commissioning.

Building Commissioning Association

A trade group offering publications, process templates and event information.

Oregon Department of Energy, Conservation Division

The Oregon Dept. of Energy has assembled commissioning case studies of a number of Oregon buildings.

The National Environmental Balancing Bureau

NEBB offers publications, seminars, and certification of commissioning agents.

The AABC Commissioning Group

AABC offers training and certification of commissioning agents and publishes Cx1. Commissioning (Cx) is the process of verifying and documenting that a building and all of its systems and assemblies are planned, designed, installed, tested, operated, and maintained to meet the owner's project requirements. 2. The process of checking the performance of a building against the owner's goals during design, construction, and occupancy. At a minimum, mechanical and electrical equipment are tested, although much more extensive testing may also be included. Journal.

Owner's Project Requirements (OPR)

The OPROwner's project requirements (OPR) is a written document that details the ideas, concepts, and criteria that are determined by the owner to be important to the success of the project. works as the guideline in development of a design that meets the owner’s requirements.

Commissioning Agents

Use these templates to find and assess a commissioning agent for your project.

Commissioning Specifications

Incorporate commissioning specifications into Division 1.

Commissioning Plan

The commissioning plan works as the guidebook for commissioning, discussing the roles of key team members, and providing a commissioning schedule, among other requirements.

Commissioning Report

The commissioning report is the final deliverable from the CxAThe commissioning authority (CxA) is the individual designated to organize, lead, and review the completion of commissioning process activities. The CxA facilitates communication among the owner, designer, and contractor to ensure that complex systems are installed and function in accordance with the owner's project requirements., including reports on all visits, observations and recommendations.

Basis of Design (BOD)

Prepared by the design team, the BODBasis of design (BOD) includes design information necessary to accomplish the owner's project requirements, including system descriptions, indoor environmental quality criteria, design assumptions, and references to applicable codes, standards, regulations, and guidelines. explains through narrative and documentation how the proposed design meets the OPROwner's project requirements (OPR) is a written document that details the ideas, concepts, and criteria that are determined by the owner to be important to the success of the project..

Construction Submittal

HardhatDocumentation for this credit is part of the Construction Phase submittal.

24 Comments

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Josh Mauldin ASA Architects
Jan 16 2012
Member
56 Thumbs Up

CxA Contracts

I'm working on a small 2009 NC project, Fundamental only. The owner wants us, the architects, to hire the CxAThe commissioning authority (CxA) is the individual designated to organize, lead, and review the completion of commissioning process activities. The CxA facilitates communication among the owner, designer, and contractor to ensure that complex systems are installed and function in accordance with the owner's project requirements. through our contract, but the contract will be signed with the owner. This seems odd to me, but since they are similar to a sub-consultant to the architect and under our direction, are they independent enough?

How do others manage these CxA contracts?

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Dylan Connelly Senior Mechanical Engineer, Glumac Feb 03 2012 Guest Expert 121 Thumbs Up

Josh,
This is common. Typically the owner will only want to hire and pay one party (the architect) and have that party do all the logistics of hiring the subs. This is at the owners discretion. IMO the owner would be best served to directly contract the CxAThe commissioning authority (CxA) is the individual designated to organize, lead, and review the completion of commissioning process activities. The CxA facilitates communication among the owner, designer, and contractor to ensure that complex systems are installed and function in accordance with the owner's project requirements. but it is not required.

There is no mention in the reference book (perhaps check the CIRs) about who needs to sign the contracts. So LEED shouldn't have a problem.

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Natalie Tan
Jan 02 2012
Member
5 Thumbs Up

Commissioning for overseas projects

Hi, we have a small USGBC LEED-NC project (400m2) in Kuwait where the Owner wants us (LEED Consultancy firm in Canada) to hire a commissioning agent (as the "brain") in canada to oversee the commissioning site work there (as the "eyes"). The Commissioning Agent here would prepare all OPROwner's project requirements (OPR) is a written document that details the ideas, concepts, and criteria that are determined by the owner to be important to the success of the project. and BODBasis of design (BOD) includes design information necessary to accomplish the owner's project requirements, including system descriptions, indoor environmental quality criteria, design assumptions, and references to applicable codes, standards, regulations, and guidelines., and the site person would simply follow instructions and document.

Is this a practical suggestion? Any advice from past experiences will be extremely helpful.

Thanks, Natalie

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Jessica Bristow Project Manager Neumann Monson Architects
Nov 14 2011
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Lighting commissioning for EAp1 only

Our project is only performing the fundamental commissioning, not the enhanced commissioning.
We had a professional third-party agency perform all of the commissioning except the lighting and daylighting controls. The manufacturer's representative for the lighting controls system performed this commissioning and instructed the owner who signed off on the system achieving their goals.
Do you think this is acceptable or is it a conflict of interest? Do we need to have someone else come back and commission these systems?

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Jessica Bristow Project Manager, Neumann Monson Architects Nov 14 2011 Member 37 Thumbs Up

It should also be noted that this project is only 16,000 SF.

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William Eisler Mechanical Designer RE Dimond and Associates, Inc.
Aug 31 2011
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Documentation For Fundamental Commissioning

I cannot tell if the actual OPROwner's project requirements (OPR) is a written document that details the ideas, concepts, and criteria that are determined by the owner to be important to the success of the project., BODBasis of design (BOD) includes design information necessary to accomplish the owner's project requirements, including system descriptions, indoor environmental quality criteria, design assumptions, and references to applicable codes, standards, regulations, and guidelines., or Commissioning plan are all required to be submitted with this prerequisite by reading the LEED NC 2.2 literature. Is this the case? Or is the narrative in the credit template the only required documentation?

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Scott Bowman Principal, KJWW Engineering Consultants Sep 08 2011 Member 656 Thumbs Up

I probably over document, but I always upload all of these documents. In v2009, they seem to be heading to less material for Fundamental, but more for Enhanced.

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Diane Stevens
Jun 20 2011
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2 Commisioning agents - one for design and one for testing

We are wondering what the thoughts are in regards to having one commissioning agent for the design portion and then a different agent to do the actual testing? Has anyone had this or a similar scenario? Thanks for your thoughts.

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Susann Geithner Director of Sustainability, HSB Architects & Engineers Jun 21 2011 Guest Expert 2048 Thumbs Up

In general the CA should be the same throughout. If you also do enhanced commissioning, you will have to have the same CA for both (see also reference guide page 221, table 2, footnote #4) as for just fundamental commissioning you can have some tasks performed by others (owner, design team), but in the design phase the review of OPROwner's project requirements (OPR) is a written document that details the ideas, concepts, and criteria that are determined by the owner to be important to the success of the project. and BODBasis of design (BOD) includes design information necessary to accomplish the owner's project requirements, including system descriptions, indoor environmental quality criteria, design assumptions, and references to applicable codes, standards, regulations, and guidelines. needs to be with the CA (see reference guide page 220, table1). So it really depends on what exactly the one vs the other is doing. I would be very careful in drawing the line between on and the other. Actually I really would not recommend having different CAs doing that. It will probably up the costs since both parties will need time to get familiar with the building and your project team will have to meet and answer questions twice.

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Diane Stevens Jun 29 2011 Guest 44 Thumbs Up

SInce I asked this question we have had our commissioning agent quit his company active immediately. So the CA that was in the middle of the testing is now no longer available. We're trying to see if someone else in the company can continue but not sure anyone else has the experience. Regardless we won't have the same person that started the process finishing the process. Has anyone run into this scenario? We are trying to figure out what to do. Thanks.

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Scott Bowman Principal, KJWW Engineering Consultants Sep 08 2011 Member 656 Thumbs Up

First, we have had a couple of projects where there has been an attempt to have two commissining firms involved, one for the Enhanced and one for the Fundamental. Susann, I do not think it is as clear as indicated that this CANNOT be done. However, I agree that it SHOULD not be done. I have tried on several ocassions to pin GBCI down on this, with little success.

We do have two projects proceeding in this mannor, but neither has gone through certification. Our warning to the team is that while fundamental should be fine, there might be problems with enhanced.

Diane, to your last question, we have had people leave the firm in the middle of a Cx1. Commissioning (Cx) is the process of verifying and documenting that a building and all of its systems and assemblies are planned, designed, installed, tested, operated, and maintained to meet the owner's project requirements. 2. The process of checking the performance of a building against the owner's goals during design, construction, and occupancy. At a minimum, mechanical and electrical equipment are tested, although much more extensive testing may also be included. project, that happens, people move. We assign a new CxAThe commissioning authority (CxA) is the individual designated to organize, lead, and review the completion of commissioning process activities. The CxA facilitates communication among the owner, designer, and contractor to ensure that complex systems are installed and function in accordance with the owner's project requirements. that has requisite experiance, they review the material and then take over. We do not "purge" the previous CxA or anything like that, and we also inform GBCI in the submittal narrative. We have not had a problem with this, we had one person leave, but they were doing two Cx projects. Both were handled this way, and both were certified.

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Susann Geithner Director of Sustainability, HSB Architects & Engineers Sep 08 2011 Guest Expert 2048 Thumbs Up

I understand that this circumstances with the CA leaving the company are unusual and I think that the GBCI might allow the team to just go on with a differnt person, but according to the rules, that not allowed. The USGBC published guideline for "How can be the Commissioning Authority" http://bit.ly/nB3jpe see footnote #4 " The “all” in the Enhanced Cx1. Commissioning (Cx) is the process of verifying and documenting that a building and all of its systems and assemblies are planned, designed, installed, tested, operated, and maintained to meet the owner's project requirements. 2. The process of checking the performance of a building against the owner's goals during design, construction, and occupancy. At a minimum, mechanical and electrical equipment are tested, although much more extensive testing may also be included. Requirement 1 means if one is seeking the Enhanced Cx credit, the same CxAThe commissioning authority (CxA) is the individual designated to organize, lead, and review the completion of commissioning process activities. The CxA facilitates communication among the owner, designer, and contractor to ensure that complex systems are installed and function in accordance with the owner's project requirements.
overseeing the Enhanced Cx tasks must also oversee the Fundamental Commissioning tasks." The reference guide for LEED 2009 is even more specific.

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Scott Bowman Principal, KJWW Engineering Consultants Sep 17 2011 Member 656 Thumbs Up

Susann, I am going to disagree with you a little. The document you reference and the footnote is describing a scope of work and responsibly. The document specifically talks about “employee” and “subcontractor”, what I feel means “person” or “firm”. They also specifically use the term “oversee”. Cx1. Commissioning (Cx) is the process of verifying and documenting that a building and all of its systems and assemblies are planned, designed, installed, tested, operated, and maintained to meet the owner's project requirements. 2. The process of checking the performance of a building against the owner's goals during design, construction, and occupancy. At a minimum, mechanical and electrical equipment are tested, although much more extensive testing may also be included. is a team sport, we use several people during a larger commissioning project based on the need at the time. While we have one person that is designated as the CxAuthority for the project, we also use several CxAgents that have special expertise. For a Professional Engineer, of which we use for our Cx practice, it would not be appropriate for a mechanical to do a complex electrical emergency generator system. We also have specialists in chilled water plants, boiler plants, steam, DI water systems, audio/visual, etc. That is how we bring value to the process, the expertise both in design and commissioning of these different systems.

The v2009 is more specific (as you note) mentioning an individual as the CxAuthority, but then says they are to direct the Cx “team”, so the expectation of more people being involved than one in the process.

We definitely assign one person to be the CxAuthority that we intend to take the project from beginning to end, but we cannot force people to stay either. We have controls and processes in place that allow someone else to step in and take over to complete the project, with assurance of the level of rigor executed to that point, as well as internal quality assurance we go through. And fortunately this does not happen very often.

Now, if in this case an individual is doing the work and stops, or the company they leave does not have other qualified people, then I think a discussion with GBCI on how a new person is brought on, and what steps there might be to review what has been done to date, perhaps with some spot checking, some method of completing the project should be possible.

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Alicja Florczak Skanska
May 06 2011
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Commissioning Authority's LEED experience

I was told by one of my colleagues, who is experienced in LEED projects, that a Commissioning Authority shall have documented Cx1. Commissioning (Cx) is the process of verifying and documenting that a building and all of its systems and assemblies are planned, designed, installed, tested, operated, and maintained to meet the owner's project requirements. 2. The process of checking the performance of a building against the owner's goals during design, construction, and occupancy. At a minimum, mechanical and electrical equipment are tested, although much more extensive testing may also be included. experience in at least two LEED certified building projects. Does it really need to be LEED building or just a random building with advanced energy systems, etc? I haven't seen the "LEED" word in the manual, that's why I'm surprised...
Please advice!

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Tristan Roberts Editorial Director – LEEDuser, BuildingGreen, Inc. May 19 2011 Moderator

You are correct—the projects do not have to be LEED.

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Frances Yang
May 04 2011
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FPTs during occupancy?

Is it acceptable for functional performance testingThe process of determining the ability of the commissioned systems to perform in accordance with the owner's project requirements, basis of design (BOD), and construction documents. to be done after the building is occupied?

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David Hubka GROUP Leader, E3 GROUP Jun 04 2011 Guest Expert 1381 Thumbs Up

It is recommended to be performed prior to occupancy but can be performed during occupancy and still achieve the prerequisite.

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Rebecca Molldrem JLG Architects
Apr 13 2011
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Two commisioning authorities?

We have a project where a Cx1. Commissioning (Cx) is the process of verifying and documenting that a building and all of its systems and assemblies are planned, designed, installed, tested, operated, and maintained to meet the owner's project requirements. 2. The process of checking the performance of a building against the owner's goals during design, construction, and occupancy. At a minimum, mechanical and electrical equipment are tested, although much more extensive testing may also be included. authority was contracted for the conventional building systems. Later in the project, the owner received a grant to add renewables. The Cx authority noted in his final submittal documentation that the renewables were not included with his submittal, as commissioning for them would be performed under a separate contract. That separate contract is really an Owner staff member who took care if installation inspection, systems performance, etc.

However, he has not commissioned anything for LEED and is unfamiliar with the exact requirements. Regardless of whether he qualifies or not, I'm not sure if it would be better for him for LEED purposes to create his own separate commissioning plan or just do the reporting pieces and have that as an item in the appendix to the main Commissioning Authorities report.

Thoughts? Supplement or indepent plan and report?

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Tristan Roberts Editorial Director – LEEDuser, BuildingGreen, Inc. Nov 12 2011 Moderator

Rebecca, it's hard to know what the better product would be, and how LEED will look at it. But to my mind, the more straightforward approach would be the supplementary report.

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Armen Khachikyan
Feb 15 2011
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What anyone can say about

What anyone can say about commissioning of non-US projects?
We have a lot of questions and confusing moments:
1-shall we hire CxAThe commissioning authority (CxA) is the individual designated to organize, lead, and review the completion of commissioning process activities. The CxA facilitates communication among the owner, designer, and contractor to ensure that complex systems are installed and function in accordance with the owner's project requirements. who knows ASHRAE standards and protocols?
Since I've heard that all reports must be done like in US - but it is not written in Ref.guide as i see it. (Now our way is to take some templates from this site and other LEED sources and just do something similar by our local CxA)

2-what key issues/difficulties or extra work on EAp1 should be taken into account in International project? Please,share your experience.

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Leticia SooHoo Green Building Consultant soohoocity
Jul 14 2010
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Fundamental Cx for Healthcare - Building Envelope Cx required?

Does anyone know if Building Envelope Commissioning is required in the LEED for Healthcare system draft? It is listed in the GGHC v2.2 guide as a required system for Cx1. Commissioning (Cx) is the process of verifying and documenting that a building and all of its systems and assemblies are planned, designed, installed, tested, operated, and maintained to meet the owner's project requirements. 2. The process of checking the performance of a building against the owner's goals during design, construction, and occupancy. At a minimum, mechanical and electrical equipment are tested, although much more extensive testing may also be included..

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Mark Meaders Sustainable Design Project Manager, HDR Architecture, Inc. Sep 14 2010 Member 302 Thumbs Up

Based on LEED for Healthcare 3rd Public Draft, building envelope commissioning is not listed as a required system under EAp1. However, under EAc3, you can achieve an additional point (for a total of 2 points) if you commission the building envelope in addition to the other requirements of EAc3.

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G Matthew Drew
Jun 30 2010
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326 Thumbs Up

Reusing existing ductwork

We have a major renovation project and in a portion of the buidling we will be replacing rooftop units, but would like to re-use the existing ductwork. Is this allowed and how does it affect or not affect the commissioning process?

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Tristan Roberts Editorial Director – LEEDuser, BuildingGreen, Inc. Jun 30 2010 Moderator

Similar answer here to your similar question on EQp1. This happens frequently enough and I don't know of any specific obstacles. Simple integrate the existing equipment in with your commissioning plan. I would think you'd want to pay particular attention to making sure that the existing ductwork is in a state to function as expected—pressure test it, etc.

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